The BCS (Bowl Championship Series) does not factor in scoring margin. Following its horrendous loss, Michigan ended up being ranked No. La Salle is a Catholic university located in Philadelphia.

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Created by Jeff Sagarin, a 1970 MIT mathematics graduate, these computer ratings are for Division I-A (what the NCAA now calls the Football Bowl (FB) Subdivision) and Division I-AA (what the NCAA now calls the Football Championship (FC) Subdivision) teams.

A diminishing-returns principle exists to prevent teams from building up ratings by running up large victory margins against weak teams. 174 (56 AA teams are rated better), and their play reflects their rating. 41 by Sagarin following its 23-3 home victory over Virginia.

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Only Division I (both A and AA) are counted for rating and schedule strength during the season.

Anyway, the Sagarin rating is a numerical measure of a team’s strength.

Ursinus College is not a Division 1 school (which includes the 242 teams with La Salle), not a Division II team (which includes another 157 teams), but a Division III team. 143 after its opening loss) and Buffalo (ranked No. 2. 57 after the loss. Instead, it rewards teams that do well against good opponents.

A hypothetical victory margin is determined by comparing the rating of the two teams after adding 2.93 points to the home team. 36 after steamrolling over UAB 55-18 in its home opener.

1) Washington, one of the poor to mediocre teams in the country the last several years, was rated No. 31 after hammering Syracuse 42-14 in its home opener.

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5) Notre Dame, beaten badly (33-3) by Georgia Tech, was rated No. Georgia Tech was rated No. 5 by both the AP Poll and Coaches Poll going into the game. 38 following its upset of mighty Michigan 34-32 on Michigan’s home field. For Sagarin ratings and more detailed information go to: www.usatoday.com

Michigan was ranked No. 242 La Salle Explorers. The win was the biggest upset in college football history as no AA team had ever beaten a ranked team.

You will have to forgive the NCAA for taking titles that have been used for years and are perfectly clear, then renaming them and creating confusion in the process.

4) Wyoming, a small school and never among the nation’s top teams, was ranked No. The home edge will vary during the season.

For those who wager, it may be helpful to put some science on your side when you wager, and one of the best places to do that is with the Sagarin College Football Ratings.

3) Appalachian State, a AA school, was rated No. Ursinus is not a planet but a real liberal arts college in Pennsylvania.

The first job for La Salle this year will be to score a touchdown, or any points, including a field goal or touchback. The worst-rated AA school is the No. The worst-rated A school is Florida International at No. La Salle lost its home opener to Ursinus 28-0. The ratings are updated following each week’s games and published in USA Today on Wednesdays.

2) Michigan State, another short end of the stick team for far too long, was rated No. Both teams are among the 7 worst Division I-A teams in the country, joining Louisiana-Monroe, Rice, Duke, Utah State and Florida International.
. The Explorers next job will be to actually win a game. The Irish failed to score a touchdown for the first time ever in their home opener.

7) A total of 242 teams, 119 A schools and 123 AA schools, make up the Sagarin College Football Ratings. 40 by Sagarin.

Following the first week of college football action, here are some facts that interested me about Sagarin’s first-week ratings:

If there is a way for the NCAA to assert its superior power, it does so by making everything more difficult and confusing, similar to your United States government and its IRS tax code which could reduce a sane person to tears just reading it.

The Sagarin College Football Ratings: What They Are, How to Read Them and What to Do With Them

by: Ed Bagley

USA Today, the largest circulation newspaper in the United States, is the nation’s daily newspaper and carries the Sagarin College Football Ratings